Dear  John,

No student should EVER have their graduation speech censored just because it includes religious references.

After all, the freedom to express your religious beliefs is what this nation was founded upon!

But until today, that’s the situation graduating high school senior Elizabeth Turner found herself in—told by school officials that she must remove all references to her personal religious beliefs from her valedictorian speech.

This, of course, is blatantly unconstitutional.

So we put the pressure on. We sent a letter to the school explaining just that—that Elizabeth’s right to express her faith DOES NOT STOP at the schoolhouse gate.

And thankfully, we just received the victory announcement this afternoon: The school has REVERSED their decision, and will allow Elizabeth to present her speech as planned.

“We are grateful to school officials for acting swiftly to ensure that religious students can freely exercise their right to express their faith in a graduation speech,” said Keisha Russell, FLI Counsel. “We hope that future graduates will be free from religious censorship as well.”

In response to the good news, Elizabeth Turner said: “I’m grateful I will be able to share my faith with my classmates, and I pray that God uses this situation to advance His kingdom.”

Unfortunately, the reality is—this won’t be the last time that a student’s religious rights are challenged by would-be authoritarians in our nation’s schools.

In fact, just since the news of this case broke, we’re already receiving more calls from other students experiencing similar religious discrimination. The battle certainly continues.

But know this: Because of your ongoing support, we will continue to lead the fight for these students—and we will continue winning.

So, thank you again for your faithful support. To borrow Elizabeth’s words, let’s continue advancing the kingdom together!

Gratefully,

Kelly

Kelly Shackelford
President, CEO & Chief Counsel
First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a nonprofit, charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It does not endorse or participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

First Liberty conducts research and provides analysis on the effects of policy actions on religious liberty. This publication is intended to be used for informational, educational and reference purposes only.